Herb Shon

  • Herb Shon, Ph.D., LCSW
  • Assistant Professor
  • Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles
  • Phone: (909)537-5532
  • E-mail: hshon@csusb.edu

Herb Shon is an assistant professor and the BASW field education coordinator, and teaches the BASW practice sequence and supervises MSW research projects. He is a native Southern Californian and earned his B.A. in political science from CSULA, and his MSW and Ph.D. in social welfare from UCLA. Dr. Shon's professional experience includes psychiatric, medical, gerontological, and hospice social work, as well as program development and administration, health services research, and director of social work field education at CSUSB.

One of his more recent accomplishments was contributing to the creation and licensing of the S. Mark Taper Foundation Adult Day Health Care Center near downtown Los Angeles -- the first ADHC in that city specifically designed for the special needs of people with Alzheimer's disease and their caregivers -- where he served as director of this program as well as the St. Barnabas Alzheimer's Day Care and Resource Center.

Dr. Shon was also on the ground floor of Southern California's very first P.A.C.E. (Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly) program in East Los Angeles, where he worked as a medical social worker, ADHC program director and P.A.C.E. center manager, and developed a range of systems designed to enhance communication, continuity and quality of services, and operations in general.

As research project coordinator, Dr. Shon worked on a V.A. Health Services Research and Development study that was the first to meaningfully examine disparities in health status and access to care among four races of veterans through use of an innovative, triangulated research methodology.

Dr. Shon has served as a field instructor to bachelor- and master-level social work, gerontology, and medical sociology students from UCLA, CSULA, CSULB, Mount St. Mary's College, and USC.

Professional Specialties

  • Social work education
  • Alzheimer's disease and caregiving
  • Ethnic-appropriate models of service delivery
  • Differential manifestations and expressions of psychiatric disturbance by culture, ethnicity, and gender

Selected Publications

Shon, H. & Adamek, M.E. (2010). Caregivers for older Chinese Americans: Facilitating access to caregiver support services. In S. Chen & J.L. Powell (Eds.), Aging in perspective and the case of China: Issues and approaches. New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.

Shon, H. & Moon, A. (2008). A Model for Developing and Implementing a theory-driven, culture-specific outreach and education program for Korean American caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease. AAPI Nexus: Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders Policy, Practice & Community, 6 (2), 1-15.

Harada, N.D., Damron-Rodriguez, J., Villa, V.M., Washington, D.L., Dhahani, S., Shon, H., Chattopadhyay, M., Fishbein, H., Lee, M., Makinodan, T., & Andersen, R. (2002). Veteran Identity and race-ethnicity: Influences on VA outpatient care utilization. Medical Care, 40(1) Suppl., 117-128.

Washington, D.L., Harada, N.D., Villa, V.M., Damron-Rodriguez, J., Dhanani, S., Shon, H., Makinodan, T. (2002). Racial variations in Department of Veterans Affairs ambulatory care use and unmet health care needs. Military Medicine, 167(3), 235-241.

Harada, N.D., Damron-Rodriguez, J., Washington, D.L., Dhanani, S., Shon, H., Liu, H., & Andersen. R. (2002). The influence of military service on outpatient care use among racial/ethnic groups in Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Military Medicine, 167(7), 525-31.

Affiliations, Associations, Consultations

  • National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
  • Council on Social Work Education (CSWE)
  • CSWE Council on Field Education
  • Subject Matter Expert, California Board of Behavioral Sciences
  • Asian and Pacific Islander Dementia Intervention and Advocacy Committee, Alzheimer's Association
  • LCSW Consultant
  • Edelman Adult Day Services Institute, Alzheimer's Association (2001-2004)
  • National Adult Day Services Association (2002-2004)
  • California Association of Adult Day Services (2002-2004)
  • Los Angeles County Adult Day Services Coalition (2002-2004)

Awards and Fellowships

  • Research Fellow, CSWE Minority Fellowship Program (1991-1994)
  • NIMH Research Training Grant, (1992-1993)
  • UCLA School of Social Welfare Community Service Award (1991)
  • NIMH Clinical Training Grant (1990-1991)